How to send messages, photos, and packages
People in custody at Pekin FCI use TRUFONE for phone calls. The system stores telephone numbers, voice verification biometric data, call recordings, and inmate account balances. Recordings are deleted after 180 days—or sooner if no longer needed for legal or administrative purposes. Assume calls may be monitored or recorded; the Bureau of Prisons is authorized to do so under federal statutes and regulations. Calls are typically outgoing only and can usually be placed only to numbers on an approved list, meaning the incarcerated person has to add you first. For video visits, phone access, and electronic messaging, you'll generally need to register with the facility's approved communications vendor and follow their scheduling and verification steps.
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At Pekin FCI, the right address format depends on how your item ships. USPS mail to an inmate follows one format; freight and non-USPS deliveries going through the warehouse follow another.
TRUFONE call recordings are deleted after 180 days, or when they’re no longer required for legal or administrative purposes.
TRUFONE stores telephone numbers, voice verification biometric data, call recordings, and inmate account balances for Pekin FCI inmates who use facility telephones.
Yes. The Bureau of Prisons is authorized to monitor and record inmate telephone calls under federal statutes and applicable regulations.
Use Pekin FCI’s designated warehouse address for freight and non‑USPS parcels, and format the recipient as “STAFF NAME ATTN: WAREHOUSE” so staff can route it correctly. Before you ship, confirm you’re using the warehouse address (not a staff-correspondence address).
No. Money sent through the mail must be addressed to a central processing center in Des Moines, Iowa, not to Pekin FCI’s facility mailing address.
For many IDOC inmates, personal mail is opened, inspected, then scanned into color PDFs and uploaded for electronic viewing. Originals often aren't returned automatically—the inmate may need to submit a request form to receive a physical copy, subject to approval and processing time.
Visitor approval trips up most first-time visitors to Pekin FCI. Here's how the process works, what you'll need to provide, and what happens once you're approved.
One thing to remember: never send money directly to Pekin FCI's address. All mailed funds for federal inmates must go through the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) processing system instead.
Calling someone at Pekin FCI—or any BOP facility using TRUFONE? Assume the call is recorded and stored for a limited time. The number most families want to know: 180 days. After that, recordings are deleted unless there's a legal or administrative reason to keep them longer.
